Speech #920245096

They are part of an essential labor resource. Despite much of the myth of mechanization. many of our agricultural crops today demand the labor that these underpaid Americans perform. The original Migrant Health Act was passed by a coalition of forces who included farmers from all parts of this Nation who wanted healthy. employable men and women who could be relied upon in the production of this countrys foods. Surely. this Nation can afford to insure that not 20 percent or 50 percent or 70 percent of the Nations migrants obtain adequate health care. Surely. our goal must be that every migrant will obtain adequate health care. For that reason. the bill we are offering today provides for a more than threefold jump in authorization from the current level of $30 million. In this bill. we would provide $100 million in fiscal year 1973. $125 million in fiscal year 1974. $150 million in fiscal year 1975. $175 million in fiscal year 1976. $200 million in fiscal year 1977. We believe this legislation is essential if we are to do more than apply rhetoric about the great need for migrant health. State and local programs are not yet adequate to serve the migrants. The answer is the same in virtually all regions. Due to language barriers. due to the short duration of their stay in any one area. due to the fact that there are so many of them when they come. due to the insensitivities of most of the bureaucracies. and due to the fact that most State and local programs are already stretched to a point of collapsing in trying to meet their local health needs. the migrant ends up being the categorically unserved. HEW officials have estimated that barely 20 percent of the Nations migrants have been served by the migrant health program. And when the target population of migrants plus eligible seasonal farmworkers is concerned. the percentage served drops to 7 percent. Currently. the migrant health program supports 102 local migrant health projects which offer some services in approximately 130 counties. Thus. of the 900 counties in 46 States with migrant or seasonal farmworkers. some 770 were not covered. And of the estimated 3.5 million migrants or seasonal farmworkers. some 3 million were not covered. The scope of the need cannot be stated any clearer. At the same time. we have seen the evaluations of the past 2 years. since the passage of the 1970 amendments. and we believe that much has been learned which will insure that the future usage of the funds can be the most efficient in the history of the program. First. we have seen the development of consumer sponsored projects which have been successful In achieving recognition from the entire community. Second. we have seen the evolution of familyoriented ambulatory comprehensive health care in health centers spotted in the home base area of the migrant. These centers. such as in the Yakima Valley. in Orange Cove. Calif.. in Brawley.